Bob Nightengale’s Winter Meetings Recap: Next big deal, Mets refresh, Midwest spending, Braves shopping

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Hey, we're in We're back.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: We're in Orlando right now and a lot of people are leaving. But things are happening. This tends to happen. Bob Knightingale USA Today regular on FT joining us right now, give us the inside word on what you heard about Pete Alonzo moving over to Baltimore and the Mets kind of being like, man, we're not gonna throw an offer.

00:00:23
Speaker 3: I don't think it's a surprise. Really, I don't think they want them back. Last year David Turns, I thought there was no way they're going to bring him back this year. He wants to make that team his own way. They grossly performed last year, big inner achievers. So hey, he didn't care in Milwaukee. Remember when he traded Josh Hater and he's doing his style.

00:00:43
Speaker 1: What's not to like about Pete? They don't like his defense?

00:00:47
Speaker 3: What's not to like?

00:00:48
Speaker 1: They don't like his defense? What's the problem.

00:00:51
Speaker 3: I just think the whole I just think they think he's not gonna be the same player. I mean, this guy posted what are sixty games each of the last three years. I think they think that evens can go sour. I think they want to change, not that you know, he was finding the clubhouse. But I think they want to change that whole dynamic there. I mean, you're just trading to you know, getting rid of three proper guys with you know, Nemo and and of course Diaz and and now Alonso. I think he says it didn't work, let me do my way.

00:01:17
Speaker 4: Okay, Well what's his way then? Because you have Soda, You're stuck with Toda.

00:01:22
Speaker 5: You ain't you ain't moving him.

00:01:23
Speaker 4: You got Lindor still, yep, you got McNeil, who everyone's like, oh, you know, he didn't have.

00:01:28
Speaker 5: A great year. What's his way? He tried his I thought we've talked about this.

00:01:33
Speaker 4: He tried his way, bringing in cheaper, starting pitching and trying to hope he win in the one in the margins, you're you're the mats man, got Uncle Stevie Cohen right, like he's willing to spend go get the big fish.

00:01:45
Speaker 3: I think he's doing his way Like Milwaukee. Hey worked in Milwaukee. I'm gonna see it working.

00:01:49
Speaker 5: Did they win a World Series in Milwaukee and did it really work? That's that's the next thing.

00:01:54
Speaker 3: At least you're in the playoffs every year, is that is that.

00:01:57
Speaker 4: What is that what we've now become as a as a sport. When I talk to people, they're like, well, if we get in, we have a chance, right right, But if you get in and get swept in two games, didn't, did you?

00:02:08
Speaker 5: Was it still a good year?

00:02:09
Speaker 3: No? It wasn't. But I think everybody just say get in and uh, you know when you look back now that he really want one and Soto, I don't think so. I think it was a Steve Cohen sign. What we're seeing right now. You know, it's probably a deal where hey, Steve, you got your way last year, Now let me do it this way. You're paying me the most of any executive and baseball. I'm not gonna just sign checks. I'm gonna do it my way.

00:02:33
Speaker 6: Is there any indication of the players that they've kept around of what that way is? Aj kind of asked this too, like what is that? Because in Milwaukee it was just, you know, find little value on the margins. He doesn't need to do that. In New York he has to do that, but he doesn't need to do that.

00:02:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, It's almost like he just wants to change the entire culture. I think he was so discussed about last year, just the way the under achieve that something was wrong. Uh. So, I think there's been more stories coming out, but Hicklin's spring turning, like what was going on. We already saw stories, you know, last couple of weeks about the whole relationship you know with the you know, Lindor and Soto, which was always whispered, now starting to become more public.

00:03:20
Speaker 6: All right, let's go to where where Pete went to. Pete went to the O's. Are the O's gonna still be able to get pitching? Do they want to get pitching? Or is Michaelias on the same line as David Sterens, like no pitching over three years? Like this is all and there we're gonna see the same Orioles again from last year, but with more Homers.

00:03:42
Speaker 3: No. I think they got to get a couple of pitchers. Uh. It was disaster for the Oils too, I mean as much as the mets Iner chiefs or of the Oriols. So I think they'll definitely go get a uh at least one big guy. If not to I think Rubinstein is spending some money. Uh, you know, he's trying to get the fans back. No, I fully expect them to hit the pitch. That's your market for sure.

00:04:04
Speaker 5: Who give us the name? Zach Allen?

00:04:07
Speaker 3: I think to go bigger than that, I think, am I try to get that? Oh wow, I think Michael King. I think it goes after a couple of big boys. So the Orioles are going to go do that. That would help right now?

00:04:17
Speaker 4: If you look at their team, we had this discussion there are they better than the Blue Jays? Where the Blue J's are aut right now? Are they better than the Red Sox? They better than the Yankees?

00:04:25
Speaker 3: I think, yes, I'm pitching.

00:04:26
Speaker 4: You can argue, but I'm talking about right I'm not talking about Yeah listen, if there were if some butts all the time. But I'm saying right now, where they stand, they're four maybe maybe third.

00:04:37
Speaker 5: Maybe third ahead of which which one?

00:04:40
Speaker 3: I put them right behind the Blue Jay I put them ahead of the Yankees?

00:04:43
Speaker 5: Wow?

00:04:43
Speaker 3: Right now?

00:04:44
Speaker 5: Wow?

00:04:44
Speaker 3: You heard it? You heard it.

00:04:45
Speaker 1: Put the O's ahead of the Yankees right now?

00:04:48
Speaker 3: Right now? Wow?

00:04:49
Speaker 5: Wow.

00:04:49
Speaker 1: I think there's enough.

00:04:50
Speaker 3: I I mean, yeah.

00:04:53
Speaker 4: The col col rod On and Free top three Luis Heal, I'll take the offense.

00:05:03
Speaker 6: Won't pitch still may.

00:05:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, We'll see how they do after you know, missing missing all the time last year exactly.

00:05:10
Speaker 5: Okay, that's fair.

00:05:13
Speaker 3: I like, oh, it's a toss up.

00:05:14
Speaker 5: Okay. So then who's the next big guy to go? Who do you think is the best?

00:05:18
Speaker 4: Because Schwarber boom then right away Pete Alonzo, So who do you think is Is it Tucker? Is it Bellinger? Is it a Pitcher? Is it one of the pictures you're talking about? Who do you think is the next big domino to fall?

00:05:29
Speaker 3: I think Doninger signs after Tucker. I think lumber Tucker gets Doninger's gonna want close to it. If someone's gonna give Tucker a eight, nine, ten year contract, Dollinger wants the same thing, maybe one year shy at the same money, and me look at this thing. I mean, as soon as the Schwarber got five years at one fifty, you know that Boris is gonna top it. So you know, one more million dollar a year, same type of thing. So I think the two play off each other. I still think Dollinger and Tucker a little ways away.

00:06:00
Speaker 2: What about the trade market, we haven't actually seen any of those big trades happen yet.

00:06:05
Speaker 1: To tell Marte uh.

00:06:08
Speaker 2: Scoobl sounds lofty, but maybe maybe I'm off there. Do you think him could tell Derek or somebody else, you know, upper echelon gets moved in the next couple of weeks.

00:06:21
Speaker 3: I think the Marte market is picking up when the two weeks ago at that Okay, they're not going to train him. I think too many people are showing interest. I think goes a Red Sox. I think the Red Sox have got the pitch and get it done. Then we'll see what they do with Bregman. I think the mass is saying, you know what, we're not gonna win all day for Brugman, Let's go get Marte and that he'd fit in that clubhouse and Alex core would be a perfect manager for him.

00:06:44
Speaker 5: I can't. I can't argue that, all right.

00:06:46
Speaker 4: So everyone, there's a couple of teams that everyone's asking that have kind of set out we're the Cubs this whole thing because we haven't heard Chicago. I know they're in Chicago, but couch fans are what why aren't we doing anything? Why where's where's Jed Hoyer and Tom Ricketts and Craig council to make their moves Because if you look around the Dodgers clearly got better, right, So teams are starting to make their moves. The Phillies bring back Shoreber where the Cubs they were a good team, they were a playoff team last year.

00:07:16
Speaker 3: I think they get one or two starters, they really do. I don't know about offense. Uh, they talk about match all the time. I'm sure Bregmant's a bet there. I think they think that Matt Shawk can handle it, you know, and go get some uh, you know, little help. I don't see him spinning big unless they get to Maya. I think they're right in the necks ver Maya. I think a when the final deal is done, they'll be at least a finalist.

00:07:41
Speaker 1: Crats.

00:07:43
Speaker 6: Yeah, I agree. I think there's plenty of teams that have to that have to get in on some of these Some of these free agents are the teams leary of where the market's been set because of the fact that older players over we're thirty years old have gotten one hundred and fifty million, and couple that with a CBA looming or a team's going CBA's looming. We're gonna go hard and who cares what the rules happen, What happens with the rules after this.

00:08:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, I haven't heard any agent that said the CBA's pediment to negotiations. You know, I think the big question is how many years is Tucker get. I don't think he's gonna get the big nine, ten, ten year contract. I don't know if the Blue Jays are gonna do it. I know the Dodgers will not do that. They might get a high high AaB, but I think maybe he might have to settle for the If these guys are getting five year deals, maybe six seven years tops.

00:08:41
Speaker 4: Okay, So you keep hearing the Reds were in on Schwerber, the Pirates were in on Schwerver and Naylor. Well they so they've shown they have money to spend. Will they actually spend it now? I give the Oels a ton of credit. They said they were in on Schwerber, didn't get them, pivoted right away got Alonzo. But will a team like the met or no, the Reds and the Pirates to actually use the money that they've said, we clearly have this amount of money. Will they actually go out and get other players now to make their team better?

00:09:07
Speaker 3: Talking the Reds, no, they thought so.

00:09:09
Speaker 5: The red just said Schwarber or nothing.

00:09:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was gonna solve. He was gonna make a lot of money for the Reds. But as everyone's rip, you went there.

00:09:19
Speaker 5: As a fan. You have that money, let's go use it to get our team better. We were in the playoffs.

00:09:23
Speaker 3: But they thought that Schwarberg just been a hometown guy. They would make you know, half of this contract just with the tenants marketing stuff. They didn't think Alonzo can do that. They don't think Bonzo could do that. So now the Pirates might spend some money, but I don't see the Reds jumping in said, Okay, here's our arm fifty million dollars we could have spent I think hanging on to it.

00:09:44
Speaker 2: They were almost there. The Reds didn't want to just keep going. And by the way, for everyone to know, the Rule five draft is coming up in like ten fifteen minutes.

00:09:52
Speaker 1: We're not covering it. We'll talk about anything that happens there.

00:09:54
Speaker 2: But that's why it is a quarter zip biker gang running around behind mind us right now.

00:10:00
Speaker 1: But anyway, I think the Reds.

00:10:02
Speaker 3: Would have kept going if they want to. I think they had the feeling and I think uh Schwarber said once he got the five years at one fifty. Don't even bother. I'm going back. I think, yeah, that could of respect for the Reds organization. So I think him the Reds that said here's six at one eighty, Phillies would have said okay at six at one eighty, so they would have gone one fifty.

00:10:22
Speaker 1: Okay, I've got one for you.

00:10:23
Speaker 2: On the Dodgers, they pick up Edwin Diaz, the rich get richer. What do you think they could do or are they just kind of hanging out and saying, hey, if something falls in our lap. They clearly thought that Edwin Diaz was a nice value and I expected him to get at.

00:10:37
Speaker 1: Least four years. He ends up getting three. What did you think of that whole situation?

00:10:42
Speaker 3: Are you just say the kin of the market dried up? There was a teams that wanted to do it. Dogs made the most sense, and uh, I think they kind of set back. Like I said, remember last year they played around the Soto market. I think they'll play around in the Tucker market. I don't think they'll be an Unbellinger, so I think they'll just say, who falls in our lap?

00:11:00
Speaker 2: What is one more for? While we're on the Dodgers. Real quick light, go ahead, Krats, Are you on the Dodgers or you're switching?

00:11:05
Speaker 6: It was on closers. It was on closures with the because the fact that two of them are off, three of them are off the board. Now, does this make Robert Schwarz's market better or just what you said about Edwin, like, you know what, people weren't really into going four years. Does this make Robert Swarz's market a little more tenuous?

00:11:27
Speaker 3: Well, I think he'll get Alicia strung two year deal, and I think it'll you know, get close to the uh you know, I get twenty three million a year like Diaz. But I think he can get around the twenty million dollar mark, at least close to it. So I actually think it helps because he's the last big guy available. But you know, his age obviously hurts him. No, I think it helps his market.

00:11:47
Speaker 2: Were you in the room when Dave Roberts made his comment or kind of double down on his salary cop comment? So because Kratz was like, I want to hear more context of it, Well, give us the context of the room, because it's funny. A lot of people are like, how ironic the highest paid manager on the team with the highest payroll, back to back shams whatever, wants to cap it down.

00:12:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean some of the reporter asks a question directly in right off the notes, and he says, hey, I'm gonna tell in my opinion, I'm not changing what I said. I'm not apologizing for what I said. This is what I believe. But he did say, hey, the game's going great. You know, I think it's fine the way it is. But he did reiterate if we have a cap, need a floor. He wants these small market teams and start spending money. But he says, hey, I'm not backing up what I said.

00:12:37
Speaker 2: Question for you, do you think that his players would be pissed out of comment like that. I mean, he's got a lot of high paid players on the team. It's a real thought, right. I mean, I'm here, I'm speaking to many people on both sides of the equation there, and ultimately, when you make a comment like that, it will lead.

00:12:54
Speaker 1: To players making less money.

00:12:56
Speaker 2: I know, fans don't really give a crap, right, everybody's really.

00:12:59
Speaker 1: Rich in this scenario, but it does affect the players he's talking about. Plus he used to be a player.

00:13:04
Speaker 3: Hed dressed that and someone said, you think will affect your relationship with players? He said, no, I got Gary which a relationship with that players. I'm not telling to my opinion, and that's kind of the end of it. But he was asked about that and he doesn't think it will have any effect.

00:13:18
Speaker 4: Huh, that's right, all right. Last thing for me. You know who my allegiancers are too, Bob. Are the White Sox gonna actually spend money besides Anthony k because Chris Gatz came out and they got the first pick. Overall, they're gonna take probably the guy from UCLA unless something crazy happens.

00:13:37
Speaker 5: Are they going to actually spend money? And are they going to do something?

00:13:40
Speaker 3: Bob? I don't think so.

00:13:41
Speaker 4: Give us hope, Bob, give us hope. You're tighted with Rhinestort, Give us hope.

00:13:45
Speaker 3: I mean, they're so far away. White spend money. It's not going to help you right now, yeah, but it might help you two years away.

00:13:50
Speaker 1: It's already been two years of crap. How many years away are we here.

00:13:54
Speaker 3: Actually second rebuilding? Five or by five years? I mean, yeah, their window what about a year and a half?

00:14:01
Speaker 5: Their window is two thousand and five buck.

00:14:03
Speaker 1: How bad years has it been already? AJ three?

00:14:06
Speaker 4: Well, twenty three is when it really started, and then they lost one hundred and twenty four was a year they set the record, and then twenty five, I mean they got better. They couldn't be even worse, right right, So now you're time to start, all right.

00:14:18
Speaker 3: I think I think it's gonna be a least. It's gonna be at least in our year. I mean they're even close to uh, you know, the Tigers in Cleveland. That's what I think. So I mean, who's who they're gonna been on. I mean, if you sign a guy like Cody Bellinger, I mean you're not gonna win for a few years anywhere.

00:14:30
Speaker 4: Went to National States, did the Jason Worth and look where I got them. And Viikers did that with Padre Rodriguez and Maglo and got to the World Series in two years.

00:14:38
Speaker 3: I think they think they're further away.

00:14:40
Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, but all these trades and all these things, though, Bob quit breaking my heart, breaking my heart, Bob used to break Bob used to cover me in Minnesota, break my heart. Every time Bob came up to me. I'm like, Bob, am I getting traded. Am I getting sit at triple A? But now he's doing it. Now he's doing it with the white side and get the more pick excited. That's true Number one.

00:15:01
Speaker 5: Yea, Harold Banks came through for him.

00:15:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, big Bob, thanks for stopping by.

00:15:06
Speaker 2: Good to see you in person. Enjoy the remains of the winter meetings. Are you going to this Rule five draft?

00:15:11
Speaker 3: I am just to see what Mets officials I can find and talking about.

00:15:15
Speaker 5: Yeah.

00:15:17
Speaker 3: The reason I'm going in that room good because I was like, what do you really care? Well, no, I do not care.

00:15:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, well we'll talk. Well, we'll talk to you after you get that word, maybe later this week or early next week. Thanks again, Bob, Thank you guys.

00:15:35
Speaker 1: Let's start with Edwin Diaz.

00:15:38
Speaker 2: Jeff Passing said that the split between Diaz and the Mets started when he did not get a call giving him a heads up about the decision to sign Devin Williams.

00:15:48
Speaker 1: Mm hmm Is that true?

00:15:51
Speaker 3: Oo? Mm hmm?

00:15:54
Speaker 4: Okay, Bro, is that true? We have Raffy Devers Part two. Remember that whole Alex Bregman. It's not that hard to pick up the phone, especially in today's world. Now, back in the day, Krafts when they had to call you on your landline, had to go through your mom to talk to Remember, you pick up the phone and call a girl and you're like, hey mom, just hi, hi missus Kratz. Yes, yes, I'd love to talk to your daughter. Yes, thank you, yes hi, yes, yes, I'm getting all a's thank you.

00:16:20
Speaker 5: Can we just get your daughter?

00:16:21
Speaker 3: No?

00:16:21
Speaker 5: But what about your mom and dad? Okay, yeah, it's not that hard.

00:16:25
Speaker 4: You can just literally pick up your you pick up this thing right here and go hey, yes, hey Edwin. Thanks, Yes, we're thinking about signing Devil Wims. Okay with that, Yes, cool, we'd also love to resign you. Okay, thank you by phone at a phone call?

00:16:39
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:16:39
Speaker 2: What so, Kratz, do you think that Edwin Diaz deserved a phone call from the Mets when they signed Devin Williams.

00:16:49
Speaker 6: Yes, I mean, especially if they have an offer out there, like a Leslie their offer, like if you even if it's a player that you never had a con had a relationship with, if you're if you're going after a free agent and you have sixty six million dollars on the table like they had. Hey, you know what, we're also going after Devin Williams. Hey, you know what, Devin Williams looks like he's close to signing. We want you and him. This is not an and or type of thing. He's not taken. He's not taking any trumpet from you. Like, there's no he's not taking your walk out music. You are the ninth inning guy. We just want to build the best bullpen possible. Oh thank you for calling.

00:17:35
Speaker 3: Hang up.

00:17:36
Speaker 6: That's it, And like the next level is Edwin Diaz has been a New York met. He has been the New York met in that bullpen. So there's even easier of a chance that you have that communication. And he says he doesn't know. We'll wait till the other side comes out. I can't wait to read the back of the New York Post tomorrow morning. I want to see the picture.

00:18:01
Speaker 1: Isn't the phone call? Hey, Edwin?

00:18:04
Speaker 2: You know how we had to use you sometimes for more than three outs. We might have to do a little bit less of that. You might feel fresher and better. How were just desperately throwing you into games at the final week of the season.

00:18:16
Speaker 5: It's the same thing, same thing with Devers when they signed Bragman.

00:18:20
Speaker 4: If they just pick up the phone and say, hey, Rafie, we're thinking about signing Alex Bragman. Are you okay moving to first or DH, rather than him just getting call, hey, we are seeing it. We signed Alex Bragman. Say what you want. But guys have egos and guys get their feelings hurt and hey.

00:18:36
Speaker 2: We had Paul Tibony who actually just saw walk by us and said a quick head not high. He is now newly running the front office for the Nationals. He told us that he's got guys popping up in trade talks and he called them.

00:18:53
Speaker 1: This was all in our interview the other day.

00:18:54
Speaker 2: If you want to go back and watch it, and there is a line and a needle to thread, because you can't have every rumor.

00:19:00
Speaker 3: Pop up and call a guy.

00:19:02
Speaker 2: But it sounds like when there's something not I won't even say serious, but when he has conversations with teams they've had a particular player and it's coming from him, He's like, I'm going to pick up the phone and just be a person with them, and it sounded like they really appreciated that.

00:19:15
Speaker 4: Yes, I'll tell you this if you talk to people that red Sox because Tiboni came from the Red Sox. They thought losing him was a big deal because he did a lot of the draft stuff. He did a lot of the minor the stuff that people don't really know about. So him going to the Nationals is a big deal. But I love when he said, oh, I called Mackenzie Corre, I talked to CJ.

00:19:34
Speaker 5: Abrams.

00:19:35
Speaker 4: These are the guys that are being rumored to be traded. That means something to the players man. And I would also love is a lot of these managers that are new managers by Tello Butterra, Right, these guys they're calling their players, They're going to see their players. That's something that you can do, and it means something to these players because if they look up and Blake Puterra is in their hometown, He's like, Hey, I want to sit down and have lunch with you. You know what, this guy actually kind of cares about me, And that means I'm more of a person. I'm more of a person and a human being than just a quantity just to just to something that I can just they can just get rid of, right, because at least I have a personal relationship. So I think this is great and it's a new way and it's not that hard. It's really not that hard.

00:20:19
Speaker 1: Agree.

00:20:21
Speaker 2: So, on the topic of Edwin Diaz, a couple other teams that were either in or out on him. We can show this Brian Hope tweet, Brian Cashman's or not that tweet. Actually, well it's on Edwin Diaz. Here he said the Yankees weren't in on Edwin Diaz. I guess I could give you the whole thing so far.

00:20:44
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah.

00:20:45
Speaker 1: We spread cations.

00:20:47
Speaker 2: I don't know, because Cashman apparently doesn't go on podcasts that have too many millions of downloads, So I don't really know.

00:20:56
Speaker 5: I just haven't seen him. I've seen pretty much everybody.

00:20:58
Speaker 3: I think.

00:20:58
Speaker 2: I did see him for a millisec coming out of the press conference room when he had his little thang, I think. But yeah, he's not mingling walking around. I mean, he's working, hopefully for Yankee fan purposes.

00:21:15
Speaker 1: I think.

00:21:15
Speaker 2: Anyway, let me get to some notes from Ken Rosenthal and Will Salmon on Edward Diez while we're on that topic. They reported in The Athletic this morning that the Braves explored price points for Diaz as well as other late inning relievers ultimately did not sign him because they're in a different position than other teams when considering free agents who rejected qualifying offers.

00:21:40
Speaker 1: This actually is a real thing.

00:21:42
Speaker 2: So if you sign a player like Edwin Diaz, you lose at least your second highest draft pick. The Braves have picked number nine overall, which is protected, but then they also have number twenty six overall, which is what they got for Drake Baldwin winning rookie the year. That's a first round pick, so they would lose that if they signed someone like Edwin Diaz.

00:22:10
Speaker 3: Is it that.

00:22:11
Speaker 4: Valuable were getting Edwin Diaz, who can save you fifty plus games a year?

00:22:14
Speaker 3: I mean?

00:22:14
Speaker 5: Or is that draft? It just does what I don't understand.

00:22:16
Speaker 1: But let me just explain from their perspective.

00:22:18
Speaker 5: Now, let me explain.

00:22:19
Speaker 4: I'd rather have the fifty plus saves if from a guy I know they can do it every year, than a guy I might pick who might never make it to the major leagues.

00:22:25
Speaker 5: I'll take the fifty plus save guy.

00:22:29
Speaker 2: Hirston Waldrip last year that was really good in the time that he pitched to eight ad R fifty six and the third innings. He was twenty fourth overall. In twenty twenty three. They've done a nice job right with that pick status. I think the point is, let me actually bring you a real snaro. Let's say, person Waldrip, who is I think going to be a big league regular starter, maybe a three ish if you get him, and then instead of Edwin dia As, you can sign Pete Fairbanks and Robert Suarez or something like that. Although I don't know did Suarrez get a qualifying offer and I remember, but point is non qualifying offer relievers. That is why they're choosing to look at Diaz and say, okay, unless this is at some crazy price point that we just have to jump into, we'd rather dance with guys that don't have qualifying offers attached to them. I know it's not what Brads fans want to hear, but that's the thinking from a front office krats that probably values that first overall pick or that first round pick at I don't know.

00:23:35
Speaker 1: Ten fifteen million bucks.

00:23:37
Speaker 2: They put prices on those in terms of what it could turn into more than that.

00:23:42
Speaker 6: More than that, I mean you start talking about like high end prospects. Now, those are guys that that start to become that prospect being thirty five to forty million dollar prospects. They how they make that evaluation. I have no idea. I mean, an elite level prospect like Jackson Holliday, what did they say he was worth when he's still in the minor league? He's like forty two or forty nine million something ridiculous like that. So, yeah, they have a major They have high value.

00:24:11
Speaker 3: On that.

00:24:14
Speaker 1: In the next other guys.

00:24:16
Speaker 6: Right in the next three years, this team needs to win. This team needs to win the World Series. That's why you extended all these guys you won back in twenty one. They need to continue to figure out why it wasn't going well, especially at the beginning of the season last year, and they got themselves in a hole. Does Edwin Diaz change that for you? Or does the Hurston Waldrip of the twenty twenty six draft change that for you in the next three years. No, that draft pick does not change that. Even if Herson Waldrop plays ten years in the big leagues, his impact on the team is not going to be what Edwin Diaz's impact is going to be. And I understand that front offices have to run it differently than that, but I just think I think teams, like we always say, they convince themselves it's not worth it. Why Because it's one hundred and sixty two games and it's played by humans. Hitters that hit amazing are going to make out seven out of ten times. Pitchers like Edwin Diaz who pitch at the end of the game are going to blow safe. You're not going to have seasons where dudes have perfect save you know, fifty for fifty in saves, like it's just not it. But you want to build the best team possible. And that's when that's where I'm kind of like, that's where I'd make wrong decisions. I'd spend my money incorrectly if I was a GM.

00:25:45
Speaker 2: Well, I think they're looking at Diaz, and then they're looking at Robert Squires, who's also very good and ken and will put his name in the notes column as well as someone that the Braves could be looking to go after, and that would certainly be a nice pickup for them. They brought back Rice Elglecias you bring Robert Suarez to join the.

00:26:03
Speaker 4: H They already have Bummer and the other lefty. They have two good lefties that they can deal with, so they need a right handed guy, right handed, high leverage reliever.

00:26:13
Speaker 1: Isn't Robert Suarez the top guy for that?

00:26:15
Speaker 5: He would be the top guy.

00:26:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, So.

00:26:19
Speaker 6: Dylan Lee's been great for them. They they kind of stacked, yeah, lefty right over the top, but they stacked their bullpen with a lot of lefties and maybe that's what didn't work. So maybe they're going after those those right handers again.

00:26:33
Speaker 2: I who knows, hey, I mean there could be some trades too, so this Notes column says. In addition to Brewers closer Trevor McGill, right handed reliever Nick Mears is another player generating trade interest from Milwaukee's bullpen. Mears is under club control for two more seasons and projected to make one about one and a half mil this coming season.

00:26:57
Speaker 1: I mean, neither of these guys are expensive.

00:27:00
Speaker 2: I guess this is what Milwaukee has to do if they do want to make off season changes and they can't really do anything with free agency, they try to get creative and trade value guys and then see if they can just pump out new versions of what they already created. Right, because most brewery friends look at this like, wait, you're going to trade away two of our better relievers.

00:27:20
Speaker 1: Hunh, what they don't cost you anything? What are we doing?

00:27:23
Speaker 2: But it's not about that. It's the same thing with Freddy Peralta. It's not about the eight million bucks. They're fine there. It's about them seeing the starting pitching market and being like, uh, Freddy Peralta in this market would have gotten.

00:27:34
Speaker 1: Like two hundred million bucks.

00:27:35
Speaker 2: Someone can get the next year for eight Ok, you got a lot in return for that, right.

00:27:41
Speaker 5: Pers are good at this. They they've they're forward thinking, risk averse. They're not risk averse.

00:27:47
Speaker 4: They take risks, yeah, they're they're definitely not risk averse when it comes to trades. They're they're just forward thinking and they try to stay ahead of it, which is why they've been successful for a long time because they're always trying to stay ahead of it.

00:27:58
Speaker 5: They're always trying to be ahead of The girl agreed,